All Day Long He Was Fighting For You
by Stella
Summary: Just fixing a few mistakes... This posting includes the epilogue! My second Heero & Relena songfic series. Let's just say it's not a typical H&R romance fic (at least it didn't start off that way).
1. All Day Long

Ok, I'm ADDICTED to songfics. I admit it. I can't stay away from them, can't stop writing them. And I guess I was still sort of unfulfilled in the angst department since I ended the other Heero/Relena songfics on a happy note. However, despite the standing "tissue warning" there could be a twist to this if I decide to make it a series, so I can't stress enough how important it is to read to the end, even if this seems so sad. Anyway, enjoy and please let me know what you think!  
  
Disclaimer - Aw, c'mon you guys already know I own nothing! No Gundam Wing, no song (That's Just the Way it is - by Phil Collins). This song always makes me cry... *sniff*  
  
  
  
  
Pain coursed through Relena as she readied herself for the final push. "Just breathe, try not to scream," the nurse told her placidly. 'Don't scream! Is she crazy?' Relena tried to focus on the woman's instructions, but the nurse's voice seemed to float around in her head without making any sense. There was little else she was able to concentrate on at the moment except the excruciating feeling that she was being torn in two. Relena was at the end of the nearly 24 hours of labor it would take to bring her son into the world. Hers... and Heero's. But Heero couldn't be with her now. Instead it was Quatre who tenderly held her hand and pushed her long sweat-dampened blond hair back out of her face. It was he who whispered encouragement and comforting words.  
  
"Last time," the doctor's voice rang out. Relena gathered every ounce of strength left in her body, and Quatre held her tightly to him as she put forth the last bit of effort... Seconds later a lusty wail filled the room and an exhausted Relena strained to sit up, trying to see her baby as the doctor examined him and the nurses cleaned him up.   
  
"Here you go. Congratulations! He's absolutely beautiful," smiled one of the kindly nurses, placing the tiny boy in his mother's waiting arms. Tears came to Relena's eyes as she noticed his dark, chocolate brown patch of hair. How would she tell him about his father one day? Relena looked up at Quatre, who stood by her side now just as he had for the last five months. She would not have been able to go on without him.  
  
A few hours later Relena woke in the middle of the night as yet another nurse returned to her room with the baby. "We just fed him and changed him. I'm sorry to have waken you up," she whispered, replacing the tiny bundle in the crib by Relena's bed.  
  
"No, that's fine," she whispered back. "Actually, I'd like to hold him for a while." The nurse complied and brought the sleeping baby to her. Relena felt as though her heart would burst. Her joy at becoming a mother was overshadowed by despairing fact that this little boy would never meet his father; and Heero would never see his son. But looking at their child, she understood why Heero had done what he had done all those months ago...  
  
All day long he was fighting for you  
And he didn't even know your name  
Young men come and young men go  
But life goes on just the same  
  
Quatre tiptoed into the room. Seeing that Relena was awake, he made his way to her bedside. Placing a hand gently on her shoulder, Quatre smiled down at baby. Relena watched him, beaming as proudly as if the little one were his own son.   
  
And I don't know why...  
Why do we keep holding on?  
I don't know why  
Pretending to be oh so strong.  
Oh why?  
Is there something I don't know?  
Or something very wrong, with you and me -  
or maybe...  
  
She knew that Heero couldn't have asked a better or more caring person to look after them, yet the irony of Quatre being here instead made her feel so powerless and bitter, if only for a moment.  
  
  
That's the way it is, there's nothing I can do,  
That's just the way it is.  
  
"I brought it," Quatre said quietly, giving her a reassuring smile. Relena was instantly jolted out of her sour reflections and gave Quatre a smile in return. She anxiously waited as he set up the monitor. This had been their nightly tradition for about the last four months. "Ok, here we go." Quatre pressed a button and the screen flickered. The familiar sound of Duo's voice echoed through the room as they watched the recording.  
  
"Here we are at Relena's nineteenth birthday party," the braided pilot said, scanning around the room with the camera. "Oh, let's see, here's Trowa. Say somethin' to Relena!"   
Trowa's face looked stricken briefly - he hated cameras, but he gave a little smile and cheerfully, though quietly, said, "Happy Birthday!" Duo seemed satisfied with that, and again scanned the room looking for his next victim. Relena blinked back the tears as she had done every night since that tape of her last birthday party had resurfaced. There, on the screen before her, was Heero.  
"Get that thing away from me, Duo." Heero sounded calm as always, though there was a threatening look on his face.  
"Oh, c'mon, this is for Relena. Say something to her. Say something NICE! And would it hurt ya to smile for once?" With that they could see Duo's hand reaching past the camera and landing on Heero's face, trying to pull the corners of his mouth up into a smile. Heero swatted Duo's hand away and was about to say something probably NOT so nice when Duo chirped out, "Relena's gonna see this! C'mon, say Happy Birthday!" Heero glared right into the camera, but ever so slowly the intense look on his face softened.  
"Happy Birthday, Relena," he said, the stoic face betraying a hint of a grin. "Happy Birthday."  
  
"That's enough. Thanks, Quatre," Relena said, lying back. Quatre stopped the recording and the image of Heero's face with a little half smile froze on the monitor.  
  
"Can I get you anything?" he asked, standing up.  
  
"Just some ice water... please," she responded, her voice sounding distant. Quatre left the room and decided to walk slowly. Relena usually needed a few minutes after watching the tape.  
  
After she was alone, Relena let the tears flow down her cheeks without bothering to wipe them away as she fixed her gaze on Heero's image. Her mind wandered back to that night; how she had thought that everyone had left as she walked through the dark room after the party, kicking aside discarded streamers and balloons. She made her way to the window and stared at the moonlit sky for a long time, thinking of everything and nothing. At last she was able to tear herself away from the beauty of the night, and she turned to retreat to her bedroom. Instead she came face to face with Heero, who had been watching her the entire time. If there had been words that passed between them, Relena didn't remember them. But the feeling of being close to him was ingrained in her memory forever. She glanced down at her son, the permanent reminder of the night that she and Heero had shared. It was not long after that night, their first and only night together, that the world was turned upside down again. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, half to the picture of Heero, half to their son. And so she sat there, still remembering the chain of events that had led her to this moment...  
  
  
**BEGIN FLASHBACK - Three days after the birthday party**  
  
  
They've been waiting for word to come down  
They've been waiting for you night and day  
They won't wait any longer for you  
It may already be too late  
  
  
"Yes or no, Vice Foreign Minister?" Relena balked at the question while the rest of the Earth and colony representatives stared at her. She would not be the one to deploy troops to space, even if there was a group threatening to steal weapons from the abandoned colony. The plan had taken two years, but finally all the weapons of mass destruction had been collected and placed on a deserted colony, which was currently on a path toward the sun.  
  
"This is a matter for the Preventers," she responded. "All the mobile suits except for the few they were allowed to keep have been dismantled and are on their way to being destroyed, there should be no need for fighting."  
  
"I advise you not to hesitate," the other representative barked at her. "What are we to do if some renegade group gets a hold of all those weapons? We're talking war! And we'll be on the losing end."  
  
Relena only nodded quietly and retreated from the room to make the call to Lady Une.  
  
And I don't know why...  
Why do we keep holding on?  
I don't know why...  
Pretending to be oh so strong.  
Oh why?  
Is there something I don't know?  
Or something very wrong, with you and me -  
or maybe...  
  
She saw him walking across the grounds outside the Preventer's office, the first time they'd seen each other since the night of the party. "You're going, aren't you?" Relena asked him as he approached her. He only nodded, remaining quiet. She looked at him for a long time, just noticing how his wild hair fell over his blue eyes and the way he was looking back at her, with a gentleness she had never seen in him. Heero reached out to take her hand.  
  
Before he turned around to leave, he planted a soft kiss on her lips, whispering, "I have to go. It will be alright."  
  
  
That's the way it is, there's nothing I can do,  
That's just the way it is.  
  
**FOUR MONTHS AFTER THE PARTY**  
  
The aide crept in silently and slid a file onto Relena's desk. "The latest casualty report, Miss Relena." With a hesitant look back, the aide left the room. Relena scanned the page, thankful that Heero's name was not listed. 'Forty-two since yesterday,' she thought with a sigh. 'Too many. One is too many.' She looked down at her slightly rounded belly, which she was still able to conceal from the public, and she knew that she did not want to bring a life into a war-ridden world.   
  
Rising from the desk, Relena began mentally crafting the address that she was about to give to the world. She had to stop the fighting - that was the reason she had concocted the weapon disposal plan in the first place. As of now, the Preventers were entrenched on the disposal colony, fighting off the rebel group that had sought to take control of it, all the while moving closer to the sun. "Call a conference," Relena instructed as she strode into the main hall. Her order sent several secretaries scurrying in all directions. Again Relena sat down and looked more closely at the list of forty-two men who were never coming home.   
  
You see the dying, you feel the pain  
What have you got to say?  
If we agree that we can disagree  
We could stop all of this today  
  
"If we can just finish the gundams, we can put a stop to this!" Quatre said with an air of conviction as he looked up from control panel of Sandrock, which was still in pieces. Duo, Trowa and Wufei all nodded (or grunted) in agreement. Heero stayed silent as he made the final adjustments to Zero.  
  
"Finished," Heero said, unceremoniously kicking a toolbox aside. The rest of the pilots looked up in disbelief. The remnants of the gundams had been loaded on the colony for disposal, and only the shells of them had remained. Zero had been the most incomplete, yet Heero had managed to accomplish the restoration faster than any of them.  
  
"You're not going out there alone, are you?" Duo asked, still shocked.  
  
"You can come out in some Aries suits if you're feeling left out," Heero told him, climbing into the cockpit. Leaving Duo standing with his mouth agape, Heero took off and headed out to face the enemies, who had salvaged mobile suit parts over the last couple of years and had built an extensive army. The few paltry suits that the Preventers had left were little match for them. But Zero, that was a different story. Heero cut through suit after suit, but he was vastly outnumbered despite the fact that the other pilots and Preventers had come out to help him. Two suits had fired on him at once, jarring Zero so hard that Heero flew forcefully against the restraint belts, feeling at least three of his ribs crack. Now every movement was a painful effort, and Heero's suspicion that he had suffered internal injuries was confirmed as a stream of blood trickled slowly from the corner of his mouth. But at last, Heero saw his chance.  
  
"Quatre, is everyone clear from the colony?" Heero's voice was coming out in gasps as he was finding it harder and harder to breathe.  
  
"Yes, all units are out here fighting. Heero, what are going to do?"  
  
"The only thing I can do," he strained, "to end this. For Relena, and the baby."  
  
  
It's been your life for as long as you can remember  
But you cannot fight any more  
You must want to look your son in the eyes  
When he asks you what you did it for  
  
  
Quatre queued up Heero's image on the monitor. Heero was ashen white; his eyes were dull and glazing over. The only color on his face came from the blood running to his chin. "Heero, you're hurt!"  
  
"Please be there for Relena..." Heero's voice grew weaker and weaker, "... and for my son. If he asks you why I did this, tell him it was because I never wanted him to have to fight - to live like I did." Heero choked out his last words as he wielded Zero toward the colony. "Say all the things to them you know I never could have, Quatre. Tell Relena that I lov-..." Heero's final transmission abruptly ended. His last conscious movement was to press the self-detonation button as Zero collided with the colony.  
  
Quatre watched the impact and looked on as the colony was engulfed in flame as explosion after explosion ripped through the metal structure.  
He felt the tears drop from his eyes. "I will, Heero. I will."  
  
  
**RETURN TO PRESENT**  
  
The walk back to Relena's room was a slow one as Quatre remembered his last conversation with Heero. "I will look after them, I promise," he whispered, stepping quietly into the room to find both mother and child asleep. 'I'll tell him why, Heero; why you couldn't be here. I'll make him understand,' Quatre thought as he looked down at slumbering baby. As if sensing he was being watched, Heero's son opened his eyes and stared up at Quatre, who gently lifted him from Relena's arms. Positioning the monitor with Heero's picture on it so it was facing them, Quatre pointed at the screen. "That's your father, little one."  
  
And all day long he was fighting for you   
But he didn't even know your name  
Young men come and young men go  
But life goes on just the same  
  
"He needs a name, doesn't he?" Relena drummed her fingers on the bedside table early the next morning as the baby slept beside her. "What do you think Heero would have wanted?" she asked, looking up at Quatre. "We never had time to really discuss it," she said slowly, trying not to choke on the words as she finished, "but he was on the colony when I told him about the baby." Relena looked down, again battling the tears.  
  
I don't know why...  
Why do we keep holding on?  
I don't know why...  
Pretending to be oh so strong.  
Oh why?  
Is there something I don't know?  
Or something very wrong, with you and me -   
or maybe...  
  
"We'll have to think about that," Quatre answered, trying to sound cheerful.  
  
The emotion had gotten the better of Relena, and she looked up at Quatre tearfully. "What am I going to tell him one day - about his father?"  
  
"You'll tell him that he loved you both very much," was Quatre's answer.  
  
'Enough to die for us,' Relena said silently to herself.  
  
That's the way it is, there's nothing I can do,  
That's just the way it is...  
  
  
OR IS IT? What if Heero (by some miracle) SURVIVED? Wouldn't that be, well, interesting? There could be a second part to this, if you'd all like to find out what happens, let me know. Love to everyone! - Stella  
  



	2. Dust In the Wind

  
  
  
Hi Everybody! It took a little while, but here is the sequel to "All Day Long." The tissue warning still applies, I think, but in the end there will be hope. Please enjoy! Love, Stella   
  
  
Disclaimer: I'm not entirely sure of who wrote the song "Dust in the Wind." I think the band's name was Kansas, but don't quote me. Just suffice it to say that I don't own it - or Gundam Wing, but we all know that.  
  
  
**Two and a half years later***  
  
  
His fists were clenched in anger, and his usually mild and calm voice was little more than low growl. It wasn't often that Quatre Winner was angry, but at the moment, he was absolutely furious. His hostility was directed at the two men in black uniforms across the office. He flew through the doorway, practically bowling them over. "How did Miss Relena get that tape?" He fumed, looking from one young Preventer to the other, and they just stared back, unable to speak from the shock of seeing him this way. In order to compel at least one of them to answer, Quatre took a step closer and glared at them even more intensely. It worked.  
  
"Sh-she asked for it, sir," one of the new recruits stammered. Quatre didn't seem satisfied with that explanation, so he waited for further elaboration. It came as the other young man nodded in affirmation and added,  
  
"The Vice-Foreign Minister came into Headquarters yesterday and asked if we had records of Preventer transmissions. She told us a certain day and time, so I found the tape and gave it to her. We weren't informed of your standing order that she not see it, sir. We were just transferred here last week!"   
  
Quatre's expression softened, changing from one of anger to sadness. He really hadn't wanted her to see that recording, to see Heero like that. Without another word, he backed off and walked towards the door, knowing that those two were not to blame. While he was still within earshot, one of the officers asked the other, "What do you suppose is on that tape?"  
  
Quatre stopped in his tracks and turned to face them. His voice was filled with emotion. "It was Heero Yuy's last transmission." With that, he left.  
  
  
  
Relena glanced out the window, watching her son as he walked between Trowa and Wufei along the seashore. All of the pilots were his "uncles" and they doted on him shamelessly. At least one of them was at the estate each weekend taking the little boy on trips and spending time with him. Quatre was there the most, ever keeping the promise he made. A smile crossed Relena's face as she watched the smallest member of the trio on the beach. His wavy brown hair flew in all directions as he skipped in the sand, stopping frequently to look for seashells or watch for fish. 'He looks so much like Heero,' Relena thought with a sigh, looking at the calendar on her desk. Today was the third anniversary of Heero's death, and she observed it like some morbid holiday. She refused to leave the house, preferring to stay in her room and just remember him. On this day she let her mind wander to things that she usually tried to not think about. 'What if he were alive? We would wake up next to each other everyday, and our son would come bounding into the room wanting to play. Heero would have been a good father...'   
  
  
I close my eyes  
Only for a moment, then the moment's gone  
All my dreams  
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity  
  
Her child picked up a handful of sand and watched with delight as a soft breeze picked up the tiny grains and sent them spiraling through the air, his Prussian blue eyes sparkling with happiness.   
  
Relena continued to daydream. "Oh, Heero..."  
  
Dust in the wind  
All they are is dust in the wind  
  
She was pulled out of her musings when she noticed Quatre making his way towards the three figures by the sea. Even from a distance Relena could see his sullen expression, and she watched Trowa's face take on the same look as he nodded silently to what Quatre was telling him. Relena knew that she has been the cause of it, asking the Preventers for the tape, but after all this time, she knew she wanted to see it. Moving away from the window she sat at her desk, staring at the darkened monitor. After quite some time, she raised a trembling hand to push the "Play" button. Before she was able to reach it, one of her aides was banging on her door.  
  
"Vice-Foreign Minister! Miss Relena!" The young secretary swung the door open with so much force that she nearly lost her footing. She had not expected to be greeted with the image of the Vice-Foreign Minister in her pajamas at two o'clock in the afternoon, but she shook off the momentary awkwardness of the situation, and caught her breath before she spoke. "Miss Relena, you'll have to come quickly! There's been a shuttle explosion. Some members of the delegation are afraid that it was a bombing!"  
  
It took a moment for the words to sink in, and another moment for Relena to move from her spot in the middle of the room and get dressed. "No, not again," she said to herself as she pulled on her suit jacket. She would not lose the peace that Heero had given his life for. "Will it ever end?" she whispered, making her way to the podium in order to address the representatives that had hastily gathered in the conference room.  
  
Same old song  
Just a drop of water in an endless sea  
All we do  
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see  
  
One of the representatives queued up news footage on the large screen at the front of the room. Pieces of a shuttle floated through the silent space near colony L2. Relena stared wide-eyed at the charred debris.  
  
Dust in the wind  
All we are is dust in the wind  
  
  
"Is there a group claiming responsibility?" she asked the council seated around her.  
  
"No, not yet," was the answer from several of the delegates.  
  
"Then is it possible that this was just an accident?" she pressed. "Have the shuttle transmissions been reviewed."  
  
"They're on their way, Miss Relena; we should have them in about an hour," her secretary chimed in. Relena sat at the long table, listening to the others theorize about terrorists and wars, and plans of action. After what seemed an eternity, her monitor beeped and she began reading the document that was appearing on the smaller screen before her. "It says that the pilots reported engine trouble, and were turning around to re-dock at the colony when the explosion occurred. Several passengers were rescued because it was so near to L2 and some of the shuttle stayed in tact." She looked up from the report, waiting for the delegates to respond. Just then, the monitor beeped again. The secretary leaned down to read the information.  
  
"The faulty engine has been confirmed." The young woman looked up, smiling in relief.  
  
"Thank you, Mary," Relena said, feeling her body relax. She glared around the room, intent on addressing the now sheepish-looking representatives. "If one of you had even mentioned the word 'bomb' to the media, we would have had a frenzy on our hands. I'm sure I don't need to remind you of that." Silence was the only response she received, and Relena knew that most of the people in the room had been taken aback by her curtness. "Next time, gentlemen, I'll ask you not to jump to conclusions about bombings." Seeing no need to linger, she turned abruptly and left the conference room, letting the door slam behind her. "Especially not today," she added, walking back to her room.  
  
Throwing her jacket on the bed, Relena returned to her place in front of the monitor. Staring at the blank screen, she took a deep breath and pressed the button; watching for the first time, Heero's last moments. She let out an audible gasp at the site of him. His skin was grey and a stream of blood coursed over his colorless lips, dripping off of his chin onto the padding of the helmet he wore. He put the visor up as his voice crackled over the speakers, talking to Quatre. She half listened, more intent on the man before her, on the pain that was evident on his face. He was dying and he knew it. She reached out for the image, her fingers brushing against the screen, over his forehead and down his cheek. "For Relena, and the baby..." she heard him gasp, watching him strain to take in a breath, coughing as more blood ran over his lips. "Quatre, tell them why..." her eyes welled up with tears while she watched him battle to hold his head up. His voice was barely audible and she caught only snippets of what he said as he fought to stay conscious, "My son... Never have to fight..." Blinking back the tears, Relena studied his face intently. The last few seconds of the tape seemed to go in slow motion as she saw a tear roll down Heero's cheek before he replaced the visor of his helmet. She was no longer able to suppress the sobs rising in her throat, because she knew what was coming next. "Tell Relena that I lov..."  
  
"You loved me," she choked out to the fading picture on the screen, as if she were willing it to reappear. "And I loved you, too." She swept her arm across the surface of the desk, sending the monitor crashing to the floor. Quatre had told her Heero's last words, but she had never heard them herself. Relena put her head down on the desk and cried until she fell asleep.  
  
She awoke in the darkness, to the sound of little feet padding across the room. It wasn't long before a small hand was tugging at her sleeve. She lifted her head and sat up, her sore, red eyes meeting a happy set of blue ones. "Night-night, Mama - missed you today," he chirped, wrapping his arms around her neck.  
  
"Night-night, sweetheart," she said quietly, "Mama loves you - we'll spend lots of time together tomorrow." She promised, kissing his forehead before he ran back to the doorway where Trowa and Quatre stood waiting. Trowa took her son's little hand and Relena heard him say something about a bedtime story. Quatre was left alone, framed in the light of the hall, looking at her. He said nothing and walked towards her in silence. His eyes fell to the monitor lying on the floor, and he looked back to her piteously. "I know," she said to him, trying to convey that she understood why he hadn't wanted her to see it. Relena put her head in her hands for a few seconds, but then met his gaze. "It's just that... I'd give anything in the world for just one last chance to see him - to tell him... to tell him that I loved him, too."  
  
Now, don't hang on  
Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky  
It slips away  
And all your money won't another minute buy  
  
Quatre watched while the tears rolled down her cheeks, but to his surprise, she stood up suddenly and wiped her eyes. "Look at me," she implored, straightening herself and smoothing her rumpled clothes. "He wouldn't want me to be this way - not after three years," she said firmly. "Heero was strong, and I must be, too."  
  
"I'm sure he'd want that," was all Quatre could think to say. After bidding Relena good night, he went back down to the beach. He walked along the shore for a while and looked up to the cobalt blue of the night sky.  
  
"She's doing the best she can, Heero," he said quietly.  
  
Dust in the wind  
All we are is dust in the wind  
  
He stood at the water's edge, letting the waves lap at his bare feet. Quatre watched the light in Relena's bedroom window go out, and slowly made his way back to the house as a light breeze picked up in the night air, swirling the sand into small dunes on the beach.  
  
"Good night, Heero, wherever you are."  
  
Dust in the wind  
Everything is dust in the wind...   
  
***A Hospital on L2, Later that Day***  
  
"Excuse me, Mr. Maxwell?" Duo sat up in bed, blinking sleepily as a young intern wearing a white lab coat addressed him. "Do you mind if we give you a roommate? There's been a shuttle accident and we have to clear the ICU because there are several severely critical patients coming in - this fella's been here for a long time, and he's stable."  
  
"Sure, no problem," Duo replied groggily. "I'll be checking out in a few hours anyway." He plopped down onto the pillows, falling back to sleep. He didn't notice the man who was wheeled past him and placed in a bed across the room. As he was about to doze off, he heard the doctor giving the intern instructions.  
  
"I want you to check on this patient at least every twenty minutes; I expect him to regain consciousness today - the synapse repair should be almost complete. I'm anxious to see the results of this new procedure. We'll be in the medical journals for sure."  
  
"Will he be paralyzed, sir," the intern questioned.   
  
"At first," was the reply. "It will take more time for his body to regenerate and mend all the broken nerves and neural pathways, but I'll be curious to see how long it takes him to regain his ability to speak. His brain has already started functioning highly, which is a good sign because the chart shows that due to blood loss and internal injuries, he had been deprived of oxygen for quite a long time. Only time will tell, but I'm hoping that he hasn't suffered any memory loss. He's been in a coma here for almost three years, I'd like to know who he is."  
  
"Very good, doctor." Both men left the room, leaving Duo to be lulled to sleep by the beeping monitors attached to their patient.  
  
Duo's nap didn't last too long because Hilde soon came charging in. "Ready to come home?" she asked cheerily. He nodded and she began to unpack a bag with fresh clothes for him. "Honestly, Duo, all the things you've been through and food poisoning lands you in the hospital." He didn't respond because he had started plowing through the breakfast that a nurse had brought him a short time ago. Hilde only smirked. "Obviously you're feeling better. Hey, where did these come from?" she asked, eyeing three huge flower arrangements.  
  
Swallowing a mouthful of toast, Duo answered. "The Preventers Office, Quatre and Relena."  
  
"Oh, they're beautiful - we'll have to make two trips!" Just then, a hint of sadness crossed her face as she stared at the flowers from Relena. "We should call her, you know what today is." Duo cast his eyes downward as he chewed his eggs. He knew all too well what today was. A moment of silence passed between them before Hilde looked up, the figure across the room and the empty table beside him catching her attention. "Hey," she said, looking back to Duo, "Why don't we leave some flowers for him? I think it's the saddest thing in the world when someone's in the hospital and no one brings them flowers." Duo nodded in agreement between bites of bacon, and Hilde carefully lifted one of the very full vases off of the table and walked over to the other bed. She was about to set them down when she caught sight of the sleeping man's familiar features. The vase slipped out of her hands, crashing to the floor as shards of glass and flower stems skittered in all directions.   
  
Duo jumped up in surprise, and looked over to where Hilde stood as if she were frozen; she was staring at the man in the bed and paying little attention to the tremendous mess at her feet. "You all right, babe?" he asked, rushing to her side. She didn't answer, she only pointed.  
  
He looked down and felt his whole body go limp. Leaning on Hilde, it took Duo a full five minutes before he was able to utter the words, "It can't be."  
  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Please don't hate me for the cliffhanger! The final part to this story will make it worthwhile, I promise. Please let me know how you liked it, it'll inspire me to write faster - all questions will be answered!  
  
Love to all,  
Stella  
  
  



	3. Deliver Me

Ok, just to prove I am not the heartless, evil cliffhanger queen you all think I am *hides behind desk as guns and various other weapons are drawn* - here is the last chapter to the All Day Long series. It's my Valentine to you all. Love, Stella.  
  
Disclaimer: We've been through this! I don't own Gundam Wing OR the song Deliver Me, sung by Sarah Brightman  
  
  
Deliver Me  
  
  
"What the---?" The intern momentarily stopped in his tracks, dumbstruck by the picture of two people standing by his patient's bed in the midst of a giant mess of water and flowers. They were oblivious to the puddle they were standing in - they also seemed equally oblivious to his presence, even though the door had slammed behind him. "What happened?" he asked loudly, eyeing the broken vase, but neither one of them even acknowledged him. He trudged over to the bed, making as much noise as possible as he tried not to slip in the stream of water snaking its way across the room, and stared down at the man in the bed. No change, nothing remarkable, so he then looked up at the man and woman across from him. "Mr. Maxwell?" No answer. "Mrs. Maxwell?" 'Are they deaf?' The young man reached across the bed and nudged Duo in the arm. This seemed to shake him out of the trance, but instead of offering an explanation, he merely looked up and stared at the man in the white coat. The intern regarded him quizzically, and after some time, a question finally escaped Duo's lips.  
  
"Who is this man?" The intern, whose name was Ripley by the way; was surprised by the wavering tone of the usually very jovial Mr. Maxwell, not to mention the look on his face, and his wife's. Hilde kept staring at the patient with her jaw dropped and Duo looked like he had food poisoning again.   
  
"We don't know, sir," Ripley said carefully, still not quite sure of where this was going, or if the people standing across from him were altogether mentally stable. Duo made no reply, so he continued. "As far as I know he's been here in a coma for the last three years, after the final uprising. The chart says that some salvage ship found him amongst the debris of the detonated weapons colony and brought him in. We thought he was dead, but when he was hooked up to the monitors, he still had a heartbeat and a slight amount of brain activity. He's had just about every kind of surgery - his insides were torn apart, he was very badly burned... among other things," the intern added, flipping through the chart. "Three days ago he underwent a groundbreaking new procedure performed by Dr. Langley... and myself," Ripley said proudly, "that will repair and regrow his damaged neurological system. We expect him to wake up shortly." Suddenly, realizing he had probably just violated every measure of doctor-patient confidentiality with his boasting, it occurred to him that Duo Maxwell should have a good reason for wanting this information. "Why do you want to know?"  
  
The braided man looked at Ripley, a shocked expression still on his face. For once in his life, Duo Maxwell was speechless. Hilde, whose eyes were still roving over the patient suddenly jumped and pointed, "Duo, it's him! Look!" Hilde lifted the sleeping man's right arm, and on the inside of his forearm was a small tattoo, an unmistakable "01." Duo's eyes widened and he pulled up his own sleeve, revealing a small "02" on the same place. The markings had been "gifts" from OZ when the gundam pilots had been their prisoners. Trowa was the only one of the five who had escaped without one, as the organization had never known he was 03.   
  
At that moment Dr. Langley swept haughtily into the room, and began to bellow at Ripley as he took in the scene before him. Kicking aside soggy flower stems, he made his way to the bedside. "What is the meaning of this?" he blustered at his intern, and also at Hilde and Duo. Ripley had no explanation, as Duo had never given him one, but from what he could ascertain, the couple seemed to know their mysterious patient.  
  
"I-I think they know him, sir," he stammered at his mentor, who raised an eyebrow in the direction of the Maxwells.  
  
Without another word Duo threw his head back and started to laugh wildly, which he did for quite some time. Looking down at the man in the bed, he wiped tears away from his eyes as he shook his head and smiled. "You did it again, old buddy. What a guy!" Duo continued to chuckle, grinning down at his friend as Dr. Langley watched him, staring confusedly along with Ripley, thinking that this loud man with the braid must be quite mad. It was then that the figure in the bed stirred. His head moved from side to side and his eyes fluttered open, revealing the familiar Prussian blue. "Hiya, Heero!" Duo beamed.  
  
***EARTH- the following morning***  
  
Quatre's mouth moved, but no sound came out. Duo watched the image on the monitor. His eyes widened and the blood seemed to drain from his face. Quatre's only response was to shake his head in disbelief. He barely heard the sound of a door opening and closing, and when he finally looked up, Relena was standing in front of him, equally pale.  
"What... what did Duo just say?" she asked hoarsely, leaning on the desk for support. The blond man seated across from her just stared, taking in quick shallow breaths as he looked from her to the man on the monitor.   
  
Duo, having heard Relena's voice, jumped at the chance to be the bearer of the news. Quatre regained some semblance of composure, and looking vacantly at Relena, he wheezed out a few barely audible words. "They found him." His voice sounded so distant, and his features were ghostly white.  
  
Relena returned the vacant look, still bewildered, but Duo cleared things up in short order. "Heero's alive, Relena!" The only sound Duo heard in response was a dull thud when she hit the floor. Quatre snapped out of his daze and rushed to her side.   
  
"We'll be there as soon as we can," he yelled up to the monitor.  
  
  
Quatre's private shuttle was readied immediately, and a group comprised of Trowa, Wufei, and Sally Po, Zechs and Noin, along with Quatre and Relena, all sat in the stunned silence of disbelief. "I refuse to believe it until I see him," Wufei snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. No one replied; Sally only scowled at him.   
  
Relena looked over at her little boy, who had fallen asleep in the seat beside her. She felt as though she were living through a dream. After all this time... She stiffened momentarily, thinking about Wufei's comment. He was right. She fought to keep up her defenses, to not let herself believe that Heero was there or that there was even the slightest possibility that the daydreams she mused over so often had the remotest prospect of coming true. Even if he were alive, there was a chance that he would not remember her - or not want her... But at least, at least she would get to see him, if it really was him. And her son would see... The tears sprang to her eyes, tears that just last night she swore would not come anymore. Taking her son's hand, Relena silently prayed with all the hope in her heart.  
  
Deliver me  
Out of my sadness  
Deliver me  
From all of the madness  
Deliver me  
Courage to guide me  
Deliver me  
Strength from inside me  
  
"You can see him now," Ripley said, finding Duo and Hilde in the waiting room. They'd been hustled out of the way when Heero woke up, and had resigned themselves to the fact that this was going to be a long night. Duo was still wearing his hospital gown, as he had only managed to put on a pair of pants before Hilde dropped the vase. Following Ripley back down to the room, Duo peppered him with questions.  
  
"How is he? Does he remember us? Can he talk yet? Not that Heero was ever much for talkin' so maybe you couldn't tell..." Ripley interrupted him.  
  
"His brain seems to be functioning normally, but it will be a while before he will be able to walk on his own."   
  
"Obviously, you don't know Heero," Duo joked. Ripley ignored the comment and continued.  
  
"You'll have to be patient with him; I'm afraid his memory will seem a bit spliced at first. In time he should remember everything fully, I believe. But yes, he can speak. He started muttering something about a 'Relena.'" Hilde and Duo looked at each other and smiled.  
  
All of my life  
I've been in hiding  
Wishing there were someone just like you  
Now that you're here  
Now that I've found you  
I know you'll be the one to pull me through  
  
"How could he have made it?" Quatre whispered to Trowa, eyeing Relena to be sure that she was asleep. Trowa shrugged slightly, and then looked up as Zechs and Noin moved in to join them. "I saw the explosion," Quatre continued, shaking his head.   
  
"Nothing's impossible for Heero," Noin added, drawing a bit of a surprised look from Zechs. "Well..." she trailed off, "He was always was one to beat the odds."  
  
"I suppose the force of the blast could have launched him away from the colony," Zechs offered.  
  
"But he self-detonated!" Quatre argued, his words coming out louder than he would have liked. He stole another sideways glance in Relena's direction. At that, Sally Po joined the group.  
  
"I've learned not to question these things," she said sagely. "Instead," Wufei shot her a slightly disapproving look as she spoke, "just be grateful."   
  
"Relena..." Quatre shook her shoulder gently. "Relena, we're here."  
  
"Hmmm?" she asked sleepily, blinking at him. After a few moments she remembered what she was doing on the shuttle, and the zombie-like look of shock and disbelief washed across her face again.   
  
She began to get up, and Quatre gently lifted the little boy who was still asleep beside her. A tiny arm flopped over his face, resting on his crop of dark brown hair. Her little version of Heero. "It's just a short ride to the hospital," Quatre whispered over his shoulder.  
  
The hallway seemed to go on forever. They passed through door after door until they came to the observation room where Duo and Hilde were waiting. Upon seeing them, Duo bounded down the hallway like an excited puppy. "Is it really him?" Quatre blurted out in spite himself. Duo nodded frantically, smiling all the time as he led them back to the room.  
  
"He can talk a bit - can't move much yet, doc says that'll come in time. He should remember everything, too." Relena kept walking, though her feet felt like lead weights. She still wouldn't let herself believe it, still wouldn't let herself... Duo turned to her. "The first thing he said was your name."  
  
Deliver me  
Loving and caring  
Deliver me  
Giving and sharing  
Deliver me  
This cross that I'm bearing  
  
Allowing herself to be dragged along by Duo as his last statement echoed in her mind, Relena finally arrived at Heero's room. She could see a man in a bed through the darkness, sleeping while machines were measuring his brainwaves and heartbeat. "Is it really?"  
  
"YES!" Hilde answered, smiling through her tears. "Go on - go in there!"   
  
Relena's hand was trembling so fiercely that she was unable to turn the doorknob. Duo did it for her. She stepped into the dimly lit room, advancing slowly towards the bed in the center. The heels of her shoes made a slight clicking noise against the floor tiles, and after what seemed like the longest walk of her life, Relena was standing at his bedside. Bandages were wrapped around his head, but his thick brown hair stuck out in all directions just as she remembered. Her eyes traveled to his face - those same features, marred by only a few small jagged scars. His chest rose and fell gently, and Relena noticed the slick pink marks that covered it. What he must have been through! Her mind replayed the tape she had seen just last night... the pain in his eyes. But this was the past. And there he was, her Heero back from the dead! Relena collapsed into a nearby chair, never taking her eyes off him. At first she was not aware of the fact that she was crying, but she felt the tears running from her eyes. She reached out for his hand and held it in hers. It was still so cold, but it was him! The sobs shook her body violently as she leaned over buried her face in the sheets, letting the agony of three long years escape her soul.  
  
All of my life  
I was in hiding  
Wishing there were someone just like you  
Now that you're here  
Now that I've found you  
I know you'll be the one to pull me through  
  
She knew that she was crying loudly, but there was nothing she could do to stop herself. A sudden movement took her by surprise, and she felt the sensation of a hand gently running through her hair.  
  
"Don't cry, Relena."  
  
Deliver me  
Oh, deliver me  
  
"Heero!" she choked out, barely able to speak as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. He turned his head towards her, and seemed to make an attempt to sit up. Realizing that it was useless, he gave up and his body relaxed while she stood transfixed, looking into the eyes so like her son's - the eyes she thought she would never see again. With what seemed like a great effort, Heero slid his hand along the sheets, searching for hers. As Relena looked at him, a million thoughts raced through her mind; where to start, what to tell him - how would he ever know what the last three years had been like for her. "Do you remember?" she began to ask.  
  
"Some things," he answered, his voice raspy and dry. "The important things," he added, speaking very slowly, having to search for each word. "You."  
  
All of my life  
I was in hiding  
Wishing there were someone just like you  
Now that you're here  
Now that I've found you  
I know that you're the one to pull me through  
  
Relena smiled in response, and it occurred to her a crowd of people were gathered in the hallway waiting to see him as well. She turned around and waved them in. A glint of recognition flashed in Heero's eyes as they all stood before him. But there was someone else... He cast his glance downwards to a little figure peeking out from behind Quatre's legs. Relena caught sight of him and smiled.  
  
"Heero," she said clearly, having won her battle with the tears. "I'd like you to meet your son, Orion Peacecraft-Yuy."  
  
Relena held out her hand and the little boy crept out from his hiding place and walked to her, all the while fixing his little blue eyes on the man he had only seen in a picture. Heero couldn't stop staring back at his son; the son he thought he would never see. He watched the smaller version of himself move past Relena. Orion climbed up on the bed and faced his father. Cocking his head to one side, he reached out and touched Heero's hair, his nose, and his cheeks - to be sure that this was a real person. When he was satisfied, he smiled widely and said, "Hello, Daddy."  
  
Deliver me...  
Won't you deliver me...  
  
  
AN: The name Orion means "son of a star" or "son of light" - I couldn't help but think it was appropriate. And there may be an epilogue, just to wrap things up a little better, but I hope this made everybody happy.  
  



	4. Epilogue - No One Like You

Hi!!! Here's the epilogue I promised to do *dances around* It's finally finished - yay! It took me forever to find a song (since this is a songfic series). I obsessed over it for a while, but Sarah came through for me again. Oh, and I have to say a thank you to Luvspook who inspired me to just get this done already. No tissue warnings this time. Enjoy!  
  
  
Formalities: I don't own Gundam Wing or the song "No One Like You." Oh, and a bit of an author's note: The verse that starts this chapter off is from a poem entitled "October" by William Morris (I know, poetry - don't go running off screaming, it's just one verse). Anyway, those few lines are read at the beginning of the song. They kinda fit with the story. Oh, I don't own that poem either (like you didn't know). Ok, that's all for the rambling, you can read the story now.  
  
  
No One Like You - The All Day Long Epilogue  
  
  
  
"And we too, will it not be soft and kind  
At rest from life, from patience and from pain  
At rest from bliss, we know not when we find  
How can I have enough of life and love"  
  
Quatre glanced up from the volume of poetry in his hands when he heard the shuffling footsteps in the corridor. Setting the book on a table, he walked briskly across the expansive, richly furnished library of Relena's estate and was met at the doorway by a determined-looking Heero. It had been a week since they had all returned to earth, and nearly a month since Duo and Hilde had recognized their long lost (seemingly long dead) friend in an L2 hospital room. The speed at which Heero recovered amazed only his doctors, but surprised none who had known him well. The physicians estimated that he would walk on his own in about four months - he had accomplished this feat, though he was still a bit slow and unsteady, in less than one.  
  
"Out for a stroll, Heero?" Quatre asked, smiling kindly as he always did. Heero smirked good naturedly in reply and followed his friend back into the plush library. Using the backs of the red velvet chairs for support as he moved along, he finally settled himself in one of the ornate seats across from Quatre. They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Heero finally began to speak.  
  
He still had to talk slowly, each word was very deliberate. They all knew that this condition would repair itself in time as Heero's neural pathways continued to reform, but it frustrated him nonetheless. "It's about time I thank you," he blurted out, rather unceremoniously, to the blond man in front of him. Quatre looked puzzled for an instant, but then his features once again moved into a smile of understanding.  
  
"I made a promise to a friend," he replied softly, referring to the vow he had made when Heero had asked him to watch over Relena and their son. "You don't have to thank me. We all just did the best we could. And Relena, she had the hardest time of all of us. I think a small part of her never stopped hoping - she always believed in you. You know that."  
  
Heero nodded slowly and, with a distant look in his eyes, reached up to toy with something that hung on a string around his neck. Quatre was intrigued by the gesture, but felt it was impolite to ask. Instead, he spoke up again.  
  
"So, have you spent some time with Orion?"  
  
Heero nodded again. "Walked on the beach and he ran circles around me." He didn't smile, but Quatre could see a trace of amusement in his friend's stoic features. "He looks like me, too," Heero stated matter-of-factly.  
  
Quatre laughed, knowing that looks weren't the only way that young Orion resembled his father. He also had inherited many of Heero's personality traits, much to Relena's dismay.  
Heero raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his fellow pilot's reaction, but his attention was quickly redirected to the doorway as an extremely exhausted Relena dragged herself across the room and plopped down in a chair. She didn't seem to notice either of them at first, but when she realized that the two of them were sitting there, she jumped back up in surprise. "Heero!" She exclaimed, freezing in her tracks as she had started to walk towards them. "I didn't expect you to be here until tomorrow."  
  
Heero said nothing, so Quatre took it upon himself to offer an explanation. "Dr. Langley said he could leave a few days early, so we caught a shuttle back on Tuesday. Didn't you get the message?"  
  
Relena just shook her head, staring at Heero all the while. "No, I..." She trailed off, loosing herself momentarily in his intent blue eyes, "I was in meetings the whole time I was away; I didn't even get to talk to Orion while I was gone." Relena wasn't quite sure how long it would take her to get used to the fact that the man she loved and had thought was dead for three years was now here, sitting across from her. She couldn't tear herself away from his face, his strong, perfect...  
  
"Oh, well *yawn* it's been a long day," Quatre said, trying to sound sleepy as he rose from the chair, stretching. Sensing that perhaps Relena and Heero needed some time alone, which they had never managed to get while Heero was in the hospital due to the doctors and the reporters, he decided to retreat to his bedroom. "Good night, you two," Quatre smiled over his shoulder, grabbing the book he had been reading and grinning all the way out the door and down the hall.  
  
Relena was still standing, facing Heero. Over the three long years that he had been gone, she had been kept awake at night with thoughts of a thousand things that she would have liked to say to him. Now that he was here, as she had so longed for him to be, she could not breathe a word. Instead, she moved slowly towards him and kneeled beside the chair he was sitting in. With a sigh, Relena wearily rested her head against his leg and closed her eyes, content to just be near him. Heero seemed puzzled by what she had done, and ever so gently swept his hand along her jawline, tilting her face upwards so that when she opened her eyes, she was staring right into his.  
  
In your eyes are my secrets   
That I've never shown you  
In my heart I feel   
I've always known you  
In your arms there's a comfort   
That I never knew  
You're what I've been waiting for,   
There's no one like you  
  
"Relena?" Heero asked quietly, curious about the far-off look in her eyes. She continued to look up at him, as though she still didn't believe what she was seeing. "Relena, tell me," he said, in the same quiet tone.  
  
"What do you want to know, Heero?" she asked, still rigidly transfixed on his face.  
  
"Everything," was his simple reply.   
  
Sure as the sunrise,   
Pure as a prayer  
You fashioned hope   
Right out of thin air  
  
She started slowly, talking mostly about Orion; his first words, first steps, how wonderful Trowa, Duo and Wufei had been about visiting, and most certainly how Quatre had always been there for her whenever she had needed anything. She told him about the media circus surrounding her pregnancy, and how the press had hounded her relentlessly for the identity of the father. Some of the other representatives had even called for her resignation, but somehow it eventually came out that the father was the 'courageous former gundam pilot who died ending the final uprising.' After that, the controversy ebbed away.  
  
As the minutes turned into hours and the daylight disappeared through the massive library windows, Relena poured out three years worth of hurt and joy - Orion's little triumphs, her crushing sadness and guilt. "I could never let you go," she added, looking up at him sorrowfully. He didn't look the least bit surprised by that statement. He knew her better than she had ever imagined. Without a word, Heero stood up as quickly as his body would allow and lowered a hand to Relena, helping her to her feet. She didn't bother to ask where they were going as he led her down the corridor. They stopped in front of Orion's bedroom. Relena put her hand on the doorknob, but before she could turn it, the door swung open and Orion's nanny looked up in surprise.  
  
"Oh," she whispered, wide-eyed. "Excuse me, Miss Relena" she gasped, recovering from being startled. "He's just fallen asleep," she said, looking over her shoulder into the room, "But I know you want to see him."  
  
"Thanks, Sadie," Relena whispered back as the nanny moved past them, casting a sideways glance at Heero.  
  
They crept silently into the darkened nursery and looked down at the small sleeping figure as moonlight swept across his small, peaceful face. Relena bent down and planted a kiss on the little boy's forehead, tenderly sweeping away his unruly brown hair. She stepped back and watched as Heero did the same. Taking a deep breath, Relena knew that she was witnessing a scene that she never thought would be possible. Heero kissing his son good night.  
  
Every dream I abandoned,   
Seems it could come true  
I believe in miracles,   
There's no one like you  
  
"What's this?" Heero whispered, pointing to a monitor and tape lying beside it. Relena smiled wistfully and began to answer.  
  
"Our nightly ritual," she said, taking the machine and the tape in her arms after giving her son one last kiss.  
  
Innocent as a newborn   
In a world so frightening  
It's as if my world's   
Been struck by lightning  
  
They returned to the library, and Relena set the screen down on a table and pressed a button. Duo's voice echoed in the empty room, then Trowa's. "Happy birthday, Relena." Heero seemed confused, but his expression changed as he was momentarily taken aback when his own face appeared before him.  
  
"I remember this," he said, staring at Relena while the on-screen Heero wished her a happy birthday. "That night..." he trailed off. She began to blush, knowing that the outcome of time they had spent together after the party was sleeping just down the hall. Relena smiled slightly, so lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed that Heero was watching her. She looked on curiously as he removed something from around his neck, though he did so without his eyes ever leaving hers.  
  
"I meant to give this to you, that night," he said, taking her hand and placing what seemed to be just a pile of string into her palm. She picked it up, only to find a diamond ring dangling at the end.  
  
Every dream I abandoned,   
Seems it could come true  
I believe in miracles,   
There's no one like you  
  
"I kept it with me through the fighting. I figured that I would just have to give it to you when I came back." Relena finally managed to take her eyes off the ring and just stared at him. Heero reached out for her and pulled her close to him, knowing that she was smiling through her tears. "Well, I'm back."  
  
The End  
  
Well, I hope you're all not stuck to your chairs from the sap (ahhh! I can't move!). But seriously - I thought they deserved a happy little ending since I tortured them pretty badly in the first three parts. Thank you all so much for reading and I truly hope you enjoyed this series. Let me know how you liked it. Love to all, Stella  



End file.
